Pride Parade lives up to its billing

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June 26, 2014
: Updated: July 3, 2014 11:57pm

The float from the Silver Dollar cruises by as the Gay Pride march takes place in the evening after the Pride San Antonio Festival at Crockett Park on June 29, 2013.

Photo By Contributed Photo

"Mr Hublot" is an animated short that tells the tale of a withdrawn, idiosyncratic character who is scared of change and the outside world. His life is turned upside down when he has to share it with a very invasive companion. This comedic short will be among the award-winning films screened in Newtown at The Brookfield Film Festival, Shorts and to the Point.

SAN ANTONIO — Pride San Antonio's “Bigger Than Texas” Festival & Parade certainly lives up to its billing. Saturday's lineup runs the gamut from Pride Championship Wrestling to the Rainbow Dash run-walk to the Krystal Kelly High Heel Race (aka the “Running of the Queens”) to music by Christopher Anton (of Information Society), Shangela and Tom Goss.

Hard-core film buffs ought to appreciate this opportunity to see, in one sitting, all 10 shorts nominated for the live-action and animated Oscars, including “Helium” (action) and “Mr. Hublot” (animated), which walked away with the golden statuettes back in February. The shorts had a pre-Oscars run at the Bijou in February, when hardly anyone had heard of any of them.

Short-film submissions for the Josiah Media Festival hail from a world-spanning collection of genres and nationalities, but there's a common denominator: youth. The eighth annual festival, featuring work from artists younger than 21, is named for Josiah Miles Neundorf, a San Antonian who died of bone cancer in 2006. Jonathan Anderson, festival manager, said the submissions employ methods and technology that weren't possible a decade ago, part of the reason Anderson called this year's festival “the most exciting yet.” Films will be screened approximately two hours per night; selections will vary.